'The Hillsboro Story' to be performed at Freedom Center
Lead Summary
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A story drawn from the memories of a Highland County childhood has informed and entertained audience from the Pacific to the Ohio River.
"The Hillsboro Story" by Susan Banyas is a dramatical portrayal of the North's first test case after the landmark 1954 Brown v. Board of Education. While Brown v. Board ruled "separate but equal" schools unconstitutional, the initial ruling was only the beginning - the schools still had to be integrated, not just in the south, but also in the north. "The Hillsboro Story" is a unique performance piece integrating movement, monologues, and visual images, backed by an evocative original score by jazz composer David Ornette Cherry.
Hillsboro native Banyas was in the third grade when “On a hot summer night—July 5, 1954—Lincoln School, the 'colored' elementary school in Hillsboro, Ohio, went up in flames, and my sweet, sleepy, segregated little hometown was suddenly awake…”
The play, which was performed by Banyas at Southern State Community College in Hillsboro in April 2010, will be performed at the Freedom Center in Cincinnati on March 11.
In 2003, Banyas returned to Highland County to interview more than 50 Hillsboro community members as well as many Civil Rights leaders to create the theatrical piece.
The production is the confluence of many artists, a community reflecting on its memories, historical research, and the art of storytelling. All of these dynamics converge to invite the audience to act as today's activists and collaborators in upholding civili rights and shaping the future.
“The Hillsboro Story” was selected as the Artists Repertory Theater’s entry in Oregon’s Fertile Ground new performance works festival in January 2010, and will be produced by ART for the 2010-11 season. The show will tour the Pacific Northwest and Ohio regions. Funding for the development of this project has been made possible with grants from the Regional Arts and Culture Council,The Puffin Foundation, Oregon Arts Commission, Pacific Power Foundation, Saint Mary's College of California Faculty Development, and The Kennedy Center.
"The Hillsboro Story" will be performed at the Freedom Center on Friday, March 11 at 6:30 p.m. The performance is free and open to the public, thanks to generous support from ArtsWave. To RSVP, please call (513) 333-7705.
A story drawn from the memories of a Highland County childhood has informed and entertained audience from the Pacific to the Ohio River.
"The Hillsboro Story" by Susan Banyas is a dramatical portrayal of the North's first test case after the landmark 1954 Brown v. Board of Education. While Brown v. Board ruled "separate but equal" schools unconstitutional, the initial ruling was only the beginning - the schools still had to be integrated, not just in the south, but also in the north. "The Hillsboro Story" is a unique performance piece integrating movement, monologues, and visual images, backed by an evocative original score by jazz composer David Ornette Cherry.
Hillsboro native Banyas was in the third grade when “On a hot summer night—July 5, 1954—Lincoln School, the 'colored' elementary school in Hillsboro, Ohio, went up in flames, and my sweet, sleepy, segregated little hometown was suddenly awake…”
The play, which was performed by Banyas at Southern State Community College in Hillsboro in April 2010, will be performed at the Freedom Center in Cincinnati on March 11.
In 2003, Banyas returned to Highland County to interview more than 50 Hillsboro community members as well as many Civil Rights leaders to create the theatrical piece.
The production is the confluence of many artists, a community reflecting on its memories, historical research, and the art of storytelling. All of these dynamics converge to invite the audience to act as today's activists and collaborators in upholding civili rights and shaping the future.
“The Hillsboro Story” was selected as the Artists Repertory Theater’s entry in Oregon’s Fertile Ground new performance works festival in January 2010, and will be produced by ART for the 2010-11 season. The show will tour the Pacific Northwest and Ohio regions. Funding for the development of this project has been made possible with grants from the Regional Arts and Culture Council,The Puffin Foundation, Oregon Arts Commission, Pacific Power Foundation, Saint Mary's College of California Faculty Development, and The Kennedy Center.
"The Hillsboro Story" will be performed at the Freedom Center on Friday, March 11 at 6:30 p.m. The performance is free and open to the public, thanks to generous support from ArtsWave. To RSVP, please call (513) 333-7705.